Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today voted “no” on the motion to invoke cloture on the Continuing Resolution (CR). Additionally, he voted against Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) amendment to strip the language defunding the Affordable Care Act from the House-passed CR. Finally, he voted against final passage of yet another stop-gap measure to fund the federal government. Sen. Moran released the following statement on his votes:

“The short-term government funding bill passed by the Senate today is damaging to our country, our economy, and to the American people. The legislation ignores the constitutional responsibilities of Congress to pass a budget each year and set common-sense spending priorities through the appropriations process. Here we are, at the end of yet another fiscal year, and not one appropriations bill has been passed by the Senate. In fact, the last time all of the appropriations bills were passed individually before the September 30th deadline was in 1994. Nearly 20 years later, America faces a staggering $16.7 trillion national debt which is growing by almost $2 billion a day. I cannot support a short-term spending measure that simply enables Washington’s pattern of dysfunction to continue.

“With implementation of Obamacare just days away, many Kansans have been focused on the specific provision within the House-passed CR to defund this misguided law which is jeopardizing health care for millions of Americans. Today I voted ‘no’ on cloture to prevent Majority Leader Reid from restoring funding for Obamacare. Now is the time to defund, dismantle and replace the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats are not listening to Americans.

“While the President and the law’s supporters promised Obamacare would lower health care costs and strengthen our health care system, the reality is such promises have been repeatedly broken. This law is increasing health insurance premiums for individuals and families, forcing Americans off of their current coverage, threatening the survival of hospitals and other providers in Kansas and across the country, and hindering economic growth through onerous new taxes and regulations. This law is causing real harm to real people. It is well past time for its supporters to admit their mistake. I will continue to work to defund and dismantle this disastrous law.”

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